The all-new 4th-generation Suzuki Swift is here looking not too dissimilar to the old car, but it nonetheless brings meaningful refinement and improvements. On top of that, it’s now available with a hybrid powertrain. With the small car segment slowly being replaced by crossovers, and what remaining models are slowly pulling out of the market, the Suzuki Swift is one of the last remnants of a once thriving genre.
Unless you absolutely need the cargo capacity or the higher ride height of a crossover, the all-new Suzuki Swift Hybrid is the only compact commuter vehicle you’ll ever really need. It’s hyper fuel-efficient and easy-going to drive, as well as offering you all the practicality and usability you’d want out of an A-to-B car. Though it might not look like a huge change over the previous generation, the new Suzuki Swift Hybrid brings a lot of awesome updates under the bonnet, where it truly matters. Best yet, you can get all of this in a car for under £20k.
What Is The Suzuki Swift Hybrid About?
Design-wise, the new Suzuki Swift Hybrid is very much iterative over the old model. Yet, it’s been modernised and brought up to date. So, it’s still very cute, minuscule, and sporty, with all the charm of a tiny city car. The most noticeable design element that has been updated on this 4th-generation car is the lighting signature. Both the headlights and taillights appear more modern, though it retains the familiarity of that Suzuki Swift silhouette that we know and love from yesteryear. There are a bunch of new colours for the car, as well.
As you can see here, our car was spec’d in the ‘Cool Yellow Metallic’ paintwork; at least that’s what Suzuki calls it. Albeit, it’s a very muted yellow colour, very different from the vibrancy and richness of the old yellow paintwork on the old Swift. You could further option – for an added cost – whether or not you’d like the paint job to be two-tone, like our car here. You’ll get the choice between either a dark grey or black roof. Overall, I do quite like how this new Suzuki Swift Hybrid looks. Aside from that, though, how well does the new Swift Hybrid drive?
How Does It Drive?
While the new Suzuki Swift Hybrid might look unassuming, don’t be fooled, because it can be ridiculously good fun to drive when you’re pushing it. All these new 4th-gen Suzuki Swifts are powered by a shared 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder ‘Z12E’ petrol engine. This is then mated to a 12V mild hybrid system (more on that later). Performance output, on paper, isn’t impressive, with just 82hp and 112Nm of torque to work with. That much power will help the Suzuki Swift Hybrid sprint from 0-62mph in 12.5 seconds if you opt for the 5-speed manual transmission.
That sounds rather slow on paper, and yeah, when you’re accelerating initially from a dead stop, it does feel quite slow. However, once you get going, between say, 25mph to 40mph, and with usable road-going speeds, it has more than enough power to keep you shifting. Now, if you’re looking for a tiny bit more oomph, you could cut that 0-62mph time down to 11.9 seconds, when you pair it with the CVT transmission. Or, if you’re looking at getting the top-of-the-line Suzuki Swift Hybrid, with its ALLGRIP all-wheel drive (AWD) system, and the aforementioned 5-speed manual, that’ll raise the 0-62mph time to an even calmer 13.6 seconds.
Additionally, the top speeds are between 103mph, 106mph, and 99mph, respectively. With that being said, the all-new Suzuki Swift Hybrid does have one massive ace up its sleeve, and that’s weight. Or rather, lack thereof. Tipping the scales at just around 1,000kg, the Swift Hybrid is insanely lightweight. Not to mention, with it being under 4-metres long, it’s a pretty tiny car. That ultimately results in a car that’s more than happy to work its hardest to put a smile on your face. Dynamically, these new Swift Hybrids are really playful and nimble cars, and I’d have no qualms about tossing it into a technical bit of road and having loads of fun all the way through.
It’s no hot hatch or performance car, obviously, and straight-line acceleration is barely adequate. But, it’s fast enough that it’s a joyous little machine to chuck into any stretch of tarmac, and not have a massive, silly grin. Crucially, however, this new 4th-generation Swift Hybrid is super easy to drive, and it’s very comfortable, too. I’ve found it practically effortless to get into and get going. Also, given how diminutive it is, the Swift is simple to park and move about on tighter roads. For the price and what it’s made for, there’s really nothing to not like about the driving experience and how it handles itself on the road.
The underbody structure and chassis further play a crucial role, helping to lower NVH levels… Including road, tyre, and engine noise, while also keeping the entire car as light and as rigid as possible. For a budget car, I was also surprised to see Suzuki pay close attention to aerodynamics, too. There are slight aero improvements, and that even includes re-designing the 16-inch alloy wheels. These are then accompanied by a revised set of tyres that help to reduce rolling resistance by 15%, according to Suzuki. Then, there’s that 12V mild hybrid system, but before that, let’s take a closer look at the interior…
What Is It Like Inside?
For a supermini, you’d be surprised by just how much room there is inside the new Suzuki Swift. There’s a good amount of boot space for a super-compact car. It’s probably not enough for an entire IKEA living room set, but it’s sufficient for some weekend groceries. On top of that, even when the front seats are moved far enough back to accommodate my taller frame, there’s still enough legroom (and headroom) for your rear passengers. Don’t expect a lot of luxury in here, but for a £20k, affordable supermini, it’s nevertheless a really nice interior.
In addition, the new 4th-generation Swift Hybrid hasn’t forgotten the old Suzuki mantra of just doing and only including what works, nothing more, and we see that in the new Swift Hybrid’s cabin. The entire interior is filled with durable plastics – the sort that’ll stand the test of time for ages to come. Meanwhile, all of your important in-car and interior controls are hard buttons and analogue switches, with nothing else that you don’t need. The gauges and dials are analogue as well, and you now get a larger 9-inch infotainment system in the new Suzuki Swift Hybrid.
You get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto included, too! Speaking of tech, you could further take advantage of the Suzuki Connect app to do things such as remotely locking and unlocking the car, or locating where you last parked it. More valuably for me (and I’d reckon for most people, too), this app lets you track maintenance and servicing-related data, like recording warning lights. If you want to, you can then beam diagnostic information of your car’s warning lights and error codes to your local, registered Suzuki dealership to get it fixed. I haven’t tested this, but it is all very clever.
The Experience
So, about the new Suzuki Swift Hybrid’s mild hybrid powertrain, it’s similar to the other mild hybrid systems that we reviewed in the recent Suzuki models that came through us. In the new 4th-gen Suzuki Swift Hybrid, we’re nonetheless seeing noticeable improvements over the old powertrains. In particular, fuel efficiency is up by around 8%, and you’re also emitting far fewer emissions. The specifics will vary depending on which of the three transmission and drivetrain pairings you choose – 2WD manual, 2WD CVT, and ALLGRIP AWD manual.
As such, if you’re looking for the most economical and most eco-friendly option, then you ought to stick with the 2WD manual combination. If so, you’re then looking at an astounding fuel economy figure of 64.2MPG (WLTP Combined), as well as a mere 99g/km of CO2 emissions. In fact, even when I was being heavy-footed with the new Suzuki Swift Hybrid on a lovely, excitable bit of road, it was still able to average over or near enough 60MPG.
The self-charging hybrid system is the key contributor to just how efficient this new Suzuki Swift Hybrid is. Specifically, this system pairs a 12V integrated starter generator (ISG) and a 10Ah battery pack. That ISG primarily assists the engine with a slight boost of power during take-off and acceleration, in addition to utilizing regenerative braking to continually top up the battery. Just like the rest of the new Swift, even this hybrid element is ultra-lightweight, adding just 7.0kg to the overall weight of the car.
Suzuki Swift Hybrid Cost
In keeping with the affordable pricing and attainability of the previous Suzuki Swifts, this new 4th-generation Swift Hybrid has a starting price of just £18,669. That’s for the base Motion trim, paired with a 5-speed manual transmission. Once you spec the CVT, it’ll rise to £19,949. However, the trim that we have here is the Ultra, with the 5-speed manual gearbox, coming in at £19,799. If you want the CVT option, that’ll step it up to £21,049. Alternatively, if you’re looking for that all-weather capability and all-season driving experience, the Swift Hybrid’s range-topper features ALLGRIP all-wheel drive, with that 5-speed manual gearbox, going for a still-reasonable £21,049.
In a positive move for consumers and would-be buyers, this new 4th-generation Suzuki Swift Hybrid now sees a higher specification by default. There aren’t too many options to pick and choose from, with the only significant optional extra being the different paint options. On top of that, by default, the new Suzuki Swift Hybrid includes a pretty comprehensive ADAS suite, all in a car that’s just barely under or around £20k. The standard fitment includes a rearview camera, rear parking sensors, adaptive cruise control, keyless entry and start, a driver attention system, lane departure warning, rear-cross traffic alerts, a blind spot monitor, and a traffic sign recognition system.
It also comes with a dual-sensor brake support system, which uses a tiny radar and camera to provide you with some collision mitigation, with improved night-time visibility and detection all-around compared to previous systems. I’ve found that the only reason why you’d want to upgrade to the higher-end Ultra trim over the base Motion trim is mainly for more quality-of-life features. This could be to get the fancier 16-inch set of polished alloy wheels, automatic climate control, a rear passenger heater outlet, and electric folding side mirrors. Otherwise, if you’re trying to save a buck, the Motion trim is more than enough for most folks, I’d say.
Verdict
Plus, with up to 7 years or 100,000 miles (whichever comes first) of warranty cover, as well as the generally easy-going maintenance with Suzuki vehicles, the servicing and running costs over the long run, I think, ought to be comparatively low. This makes the new Suzuki Swift Hybrid an even better deal the more you study it. From years 3 to 7 the warranty will get extended each year that you have the car serviced with the Suzuki dealer up to 7 years in total.
As a whole, this new Suzuki Swift Hybrid is the type of car that I’d be more than happy to commute with, from A to B, and spend countless hours in it every single week. As commuter cars and daily drivers go, this new Suzuki Swift Hybrid is a fantastic budget option.
It drives, handles, and runs without a fuss. Though it might not be a trailblazer, nor will it light your hair on fire, it’s something I’d happily recommend to pretty much anyone, if all they need is a no-nonsense vehicle. Suzuki cars have always done really well in this regard, and when you add a hybrid powertrain to it, it makes for a far more complete, refined package. They’re superbly fuel-efficient and add at least a tiny bit of power. For the money, this new Suzuki Swift Hybrid is exceptionally great value and one you shouldn’t miss out on.
Specification
Suzuki Swift Hybrid Specs
- Price: £19,799
- Engine: 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder mild hybrid
- Power: 82hp
- Torque: 112Nm
- Transmission: 5-speed manual
- 0-62mph: 12.5 seconds
- Top speed: 103mph
- Economy combined: 64.2 mpg
- CO2: 99g/km
